Ashford Legacy
by ashford2ashford
Summary: Alfred Ashford's POV in CODE: Veronica the first one I wrote, and the ending is a bit sucky...


Ashford to Ashford  
  
I lie awake and I think.  
  
My lust and my urge for her has overtaken my body now.  
  
I must find my sister.  
  
I crawl to the door of my room and then stop, the urge now gone quicker than it came.  
  
There is an uncomfortable lullaby of wails and moans flowing in through the window and I look into the eyes of the undead. The lifeless eyes gaze into my own with such hunger burning within them and I can hear the creature moaning for my tender flesh.  
  
Yet these lullabies are somewhat comforting, are they not?  
  
I realise that I have been foolish to try and get to her.  
  
She is gone.  
  
My mind is blurred, my lips are dry.  
  
I lick them back into wetness and slide against the door in a pathetic motion.  
  
My head buzzes with hatred for Claire Redfield.  
  
I feel Alexia's whispers in the next room, beckoning me.drawing me towards her room in frenzy.  
  
I hear her soft voice singing through the walls, accompanied by a mournful chorus of wails and moans, singing The 'Berceuse' like the angel she is.was.  
  
I slowly swivel the secret passage around and step into her room, greeted by a scent long forgotten.  
  
Her room stays the way it has always been - clean and unholy - and my eyes burn with tears as I sweep my horrid gaze across the place.once.twice. My eyes are that of the innocent.  
  
Do I still believe in that word?  
  
1 I sit down on a clean bed that has remained untouched for years.  
  
My gaze falls upon a note on the desk.  
  
I reach over, grab it.read it.  
  
To a dear Brother,  
  
Congratulations on the final completion of the Rockfort Military base.  
  
Alexia Ashford  
  
2 I gasp.  
  
The card flutters to the floor, dropped by trembling fingers.  
  
My arms slide under the pillows and bring the comfort up to my weak head.  
  
Bones drag me to the pillows, make me lie down.weights are upon me, making me unable to move.  
  
I yawn and close my eyes.  
  
My own heart thuds against my ribs in its usual musical rhythm.  
  
It is still beating is it?  
  
Strange.  
  
The tremendous urge to sleep has been taking over my stiffened body for days now and I finally succumb to the lusts of sleep.  
  
I prepare for nightmares.  
  
Can I ever call things dreams?  
  
.and I allow my whole body to relax.  
  
Sleep is overwhelming and soon I know no more.  
  
(1)  
  
1977  
  
The young 15-year-old boy sat at the edge of a fountain and waited.  
  
Sweat slicked his blond hair thoroughly and his pale blue eyes caught the reflections from the sunlight on the water.  
  
He ran his long fingers through his hair and sighed.  
  
The shirt he was wearing was also soaked with his sweat and the weather was getting warmer by the minute as the clock struck midday.  
  
Alfred Ashford experienced this everyday.  
  
At about eleven each day the coldness of the night would make way for the warmth of the day, and by two o'clock in the afternoon the weather was so hot that he had to take shelter indoors or walk around in his shorts for the remainder of the day.  
  
He sighed again and reached into the fountain, flicking water into his face, cooling himself down.  
  
Yawning, he lay on the cold, wet stone of the fountain and waited still.  
  
Finally, she came.  
  
A mirror image of Alfred.a twin.Alexia Ashford.  
  
He smiled and greeted her with a hug - which she pulled away from soon afterwards due to his soaking shirt.  
  
She sat down next to her brother and brought out notes and charts and papers from the small black briefcase she was carrying.  
  
She had Alfred's features, from his pale skin to his blue eyes, and her own blond hair was slightly longer than his was. From a distance, the two looked exactly alike, both having the same height and weight, but up close you noticed Alfred's thin, yet muscular, frame and Alexia's well curved body, as well as the obvious change in voice.  
  
Alexia's voice was strong and powerful - useful in the meetings she went to - whereas her brother's voice was weak and frail.  
  
In fact, most people thought that Alfred should have been the girl, and Alexia the boy!  
  
Alfred's eyes slowly looked over the notes that had been placed in front of him and shrugged.  
  
"What about them?" He asked, an 'I'm not really interested' look forming on his face.  
  
Alexia made a strange growling noise at the back of her throat and pointed at them harshly.  
  
"What do they look as though they are about?" She demanded in a harsh snarl.  
  
Her brother once again read them over and shrugged again.  
  
"Uhh.I can see stuff on, uh, viral infections and it talks about a new virus that has been discovered in an ant, but, uhh.nothing interesting apart from this part about the virus that Umbrella Inc. has been working on." He placed his finger on the spot he had looked at. "The T-Virus is it?"  
  
Alexia slapped his face gently and read another note out aloud.  
  
"'There has been a recent discovery by Miss Alexia Ashford - heir to the Ashford family 'Blah, blah' - of a new virus contained within the queen of an ant hill colony.  
  
'There has been several issues in which Miss Ashford has been able to mix the ant virus, as it is now called, with our mother virus, the T-Virus.  
  
'Miss Ashford has created an unknown virus known to her as T-Veronica and has stated that she, quote: "Has been able to control a whole ant colony herself by using the virus in a way that none of us but" her and Griffith know how to.  
  
'We have made a decision to allow Miss Ashford the honour of controlling the labs that are situated in base Antarctic. The honour of controlling this base has been given to the Ashford family's own Lord Alexander, and to his son Sir Alfred Ashford after he has served his time in Umbrella.'"  
  
Alfred stared at her blankly and then shrugged again.  
  
"Meaning what?" He questioned her.  
  
Alexia grabbed him by the collar and shook him.  
  
"Meaning that if I have the labs in the Antarctic base, I can finally continue to make the perfect life-form with the T-Veronica virus! I can rule the world if I can just get the amount of ant virus used right!"  
  
She flung him into the fountain headfirst and then watched as he emerged from it, drenched and spluttering.  
  
"Sometimes I think you act dumb just to act cute, brother." She commented, before leaning back and facing the sun.  
  
Alfred ripped the soaking shirt off himself and threw it to the tiled ground in disgust.  
  
He clambered out of the water and then sat beside his sister, sniffling, "It's not an act, believe me."  
  
His sister merely scoffed in reply.  
  
"Okay then, brother." she sneered, ".I can assume that you were born stupid then!"  
  
Alfred snarled and began to walk away, muttering, "She's always talking about virus's.and taking over the world.I wish Umbrella Inc. would stick their research straight up their filthy a - huh?"  
  
Alexia came up behind him and cut him off abruptly.  
  
"I'm sorry, brother. I was only playing." She placed a fingernail on his lips, teasing him; "We can still play.can't we?"  
  
She ran her fingers over his wet chest and then playfully flicked his nose.  
  
He stared at her with eyes that didn't register any emotion whatsoever.  
  
His hair dripped over his face in wet clumps and he was soaked to the bone.  
  
Despite the heat, he was also shivering due to the cold water.  
  
Alexia smiled and shook her head.  
  
"Look, just forget what I said and come inside.you're soaked right through."  
  
Alfred smiled back and nodded, purposely putting his arm around her, soaking her dress.  
  
She grinned at him and then raced into the house.  
  
(2)  
  
I am awake, gasping as the visions slowly shift away from my sight.  
  
I can hear someone coming through the castle doors, gasping and panting.  
  
Claire Redfield has come.  
  
Why now?  
  
I stand and wince in pain.  
  
My leg feels twisted.deformed.  
  
Only one thing to do.  
  
I grab Alexia's dress.slip on a wig.quickly add makeup to my pale features.  
  
Do I look like her? Will this guise be the perfect one?  
  
Alexia will tell me.  
  
As soon as I take on her role, she will come to me and tell me what to do.  
  
A conversation starts.  
  
Two voices.one person.  
  
I tell her how stressed I am.I tell her about Claire.  
  
Her voice sounds in my ears.coming from my mouth.  
  
"Stay focused, brother.our enemy is only a little girl. Oh why is this taking so long?"  
  
"My apologies, Alexia, but I - ah - have been doing my best!"  
  
I plead.she is harsh.unforgiving.  
  
"The success of the Ashford family depends on you, brother!"  
  
I smile.a sadistic smile.  
  
"I will, Alexia! I will raise the name of the glorious Ashford family and then you shall reign over us all!"  
  
She laughs.  
  
"Do not worry, brother.I shall dispose of them myself!"  
  
I hear a gasp.  
  
Someone is out there.  
  
I forget who's voice I am talking in.I forget I am sitting here in her dress.  
  
"Is someone in the corridor?" Alexia snarls, rushing to the window.  
  
Silence.uncomfortable silence.  
  
"What is it Alexia?"  
  
She turns and I imagine myself acting innocent; sitting and awaiting orders.  
  
"N-nothing." she is unsure of herself, ".I believe I must have been imagining things." she stands up - powerful, "Let us go, brother!"  
  
Her powerful presence forces me to the secret passageway connecting the rooms.  
  
I push past, walking proudly in high heels and I admire my room.  
  
It's always been blue and red for us, Alexia!  
  
I look at the blue room.  
  
Mild and almost babyish compared to a fiery red room like Alexia's.  
  
But then again, you've always been a baby haven't you?  
  
Remember the school?  
  
I shudder, and the memory returns.  
  
1972  
  
3 "NO! You can't do this to me!"  
  
A scream, and then silence. Followed by:  
  
"You sick.sick.PSYCHO!"  
  
The 10 year old boy shook his head in dismay and shock and then paced his room wildly, like a caged animal.  
  
A 10 year old Alfred Ashford.  
  
He screamed again, and then flopped to the floor - his strength gone.  
  
The tall, thin, blond man stood at the door and looked nervously at the woman next to him - a small blond woman.  
  
The man wore extremely smart clothes, rich and healthy looking.the woman wore maid's clothes, small and huddled.  
  
"It's for your own good, son." The man murmured softly, trying to calm down the raging boy, "It's so you don't feel lonely whilst Alexia is away.she starts a job at Umbrella Inc. tomorrow and we simply can't have you in the way whilst we are busy!"  
  
Alfred stood, his hands clenched into two tiny fists.  
  
"IS THAT ALL I AM TO YOU?" He screeched, his face red with fury, "AM I SOME SORT OF PROBLEM? ALWAYS IN THE WAY? JUST A SPARE PART IN YOUR PERFECT EXISTENCE?"  
  
The man stepped forward and placed his hands on the two tiny shoulders.  
  
"Son.it's for your own good." He repeated, "Besides.you'll not feel lonely."  
  
Alfred screamed again and grabbed the leaflet out of the maid's hands.  
  
"I WON'T FEEL LONELY?" He snarls, shaking the leaflet in front of his father's face - Lord Alexander's face, "A boarding school! You're sending me to a boarding school for a year and you think that I won't be lonely? You're crazy! Tell him he's crazy, Raquel!"  
  
Alfred wrapped his arms around the maid's legs and buried his face in her stomach.  
  
"He's crazy!" He kept repeating, "He's crazy."  
  
Raquel placed her arms around his trembling shoulders and breathed inwards softly.  
  
"I'm sorry, Alfred.but your Father is right.it's for your own good."  
  
"NO!"  
  
Alfred leapt back and shook his head furiously.  
  
"YOU'RE BOTH MAD! ALEXIA!"  
  
He ran out the door and sprinted to his sister's room.  
  
The young 10-year-old girl turned to acknowledge her brother and then welcomed him into her arms.  
  
"Brother." She murmured softly, hugging him, stroking his hair, his head on her chest, "What is it, brother? Who hurt you?"  
  
Alfred sobbed, his tears rolling down his cheeks as he struggled to form words with his whimpering voice.  
  
"They.dad and Raquel.take me away! I don' wanna.wanna stay here with - gulp - with you - whimper - they.gone mad! Sending me to - gasp - boarding school!"  
  
He broke down crying and said no more.  
  
Alexia stared thoughtfully into space and smiled.  
  
"Don't worry." she assured the whimpering form on her chest, "I have a plan.an excellent plan."  
  
"What?"  
  
Alexia looked down to her chest and saw Alfred's expectant blue eyes staring up at her, glistening with tears.  
  
She smiled and whispered into his ear.  
  
"Don't worry about this 'school' Alfred. Go to it and when you return.I can guarantee that we'll both put my plans into action."  
  
Alfred thought this over carefully, one thumb in his mouth, one arm around Alexia's waist, his head still resting on her chest.  
  
He sucked lightly on his thumb for a second and then smiled.  
  
"Okay." He spoke softly, as if unsure of what he was saying, "I'll go."  
  
(3)  
  
I hiss.  
  
The memory is killing me.  
  
Yes, you went to that boarding school didn't you? And what happened? You got beaten, raped, called and bullied by a bunch of 18-year-old creeps! No wonder you're so messed up!  
  
I sit down and listen.  
  
There is movement in Alexia's room.  
  
3.1 So it was Claire in the hallway.watching me.spying on me.  
  
Well.she has looked into the face of Alexia.and she will die for that!  
  
I grab my sniper rifle and softly step into the other room.  
  
My high heels click against the ground and I smile when I see her.  
  
Claire Redfield.  
  
So.beautiful.so deadly.  
  
"Claire Redfield!" Alexia takes over my mind. I speak in her voice; "We meet each other at last! A pity I must say goodbye so soon! I am Alexia Ashford.for the pride of the Ashford family.I WILL KILL YOU!"  
  
The rest.a blur.  
  
I remember my finger tightening on the trigger.and then I remember running back into my room.ripping off the wig and the dress.throwing them around the room mindlessly as I clamber up onto the thin sheeting of the four poster bed.  
  
3.2 What the hell just happened?  
  
Why am I hiding up here?  
  
As if answering my question, Claire and that brat Steve Burnside walk in through the secret door and begin searching my room.  
  
I watch from the top of the bed, my rifle is out of bullets, I have to wait and watch.  
  
Then Claire picks up my wig.  
  
3.3 She knows!  
  
She knows that you cross-dress!  
  
Kill them!  
  
.and I jump off the top and swipe for her head with my rife.  
  
Missing.  
  
Steve shoves me hard in the face.then in the stomach.  
  
He inspects his hand weirdly.  
  
I look at the mirror.  
  
There is a bloody wound in my shoulder, seeping away my life.  
  
It rips at me, forces my knees to buckle underneath me like a newborn foal.  
  
But I gape at my reflection.  
  
3.4 NO!  
  
Your makeup is smudged!  
  
They'll know!  
  
They know!  
  
4 Then I scream.and run.into nothingness.  
  
1973  
  
"Get off me!"  
  
A piercing scream followed by a harsh laugh.  
  
"Not until you apologise, pretty boy."  
  
Four teens holding down a screaming child.  
  
"Go on!" Their leader snarled, "Apologise and we might go easy on you."  
  
The boy laughed and then winced at the pain in his stomach.  
  
"Apologise? For what? I only told you the truth! Does the truth hurt, Gay Boy?"  
  
The leader snarled and plunged his fist into the boy's stomach.  
  
"I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT HURTS!"  
  
Again that harsh scream.  
  
Ron Walker, Rocky Carver, Carl Griffith and Roger Reston held down young Alfred Ashford on the floor and laughed as they punched him again and again.  
  
Ron Walker, aged 18, was known as the leader of the group.  
  
His size, speed and strength gave him that reputation and he stuck to it.  
  
His blond hair was slicked to his forehead as he sat on top of the young 10- year-old and harshly grabbed his chin, forcing his head upwards, before punching him in the face again.  
  
Rocky Carver, aged 16, was only in Ron's group because of the popularity he had whilst being in it.  
  
He was searching the corridors with pale blue eyes, whilst running his fingers through his sweat-slicked brown hair.  
  
Carl Griffith, aged 17, and Roger Reston, aged 15, held down an arm and a leg each, allowing Ron the pleasure of doing what he liked to the young Ashford.  
  
Alfred groaned in pain as his head was harshly jerked forward again, ready for another punch.  
  
"I-I'm s-sorry." he moaned, his voice barely above a whisper.  
  
Ron smiled an evil toothy smile and bent down to listen.  
  
"Repeat that.so all of us can hear.go on!"  
  
Alfred choked and coughed.  
  
"C-can't b-breathe."  
  
Ron allowed him to sit up and then he grabbed his chin again.  
  
"Repeat that.go on." He urged, "We'll go easy on you."  
  
Alfred coughed again and faced his attackers.  
  
"I-I'm sorry." He told them, "Sorry, Ron.my apologies.you're not a freaked out Gay Boy.my bad."  
  
Ron smiled and patted his head harshly.  
  
"Good boy, pretty boy." He murmured into his ear, ".just don't do it again okay?"  
  
Alfred nodded and touched the sore on his lips gingerly with one delicate finger.  
  
Upon acknowledging the existence of an open bloody wound, he winced and pulled away.  
  
The red liquid that was his own blood had covered his fingertip completely, making him suck at it to get the redness off.  
  
He glanced down at his stomach and frowned.  
  
Several bruises and cuts covered his chest and stomach completely, making a sharp searing pain cut through him when he moved.  
  
His back was the same as his stomach and chest, making it impossible for him to even move an inch.  
  
One eye was blackened and his cheek had become swollen and painful.  
  
He spat out more blood from his mouth and then searched in the darkness for his shirt.  
  
Upon finding it shoved in a corner, ripped to shreds and now useless, covered in his blood, he sank down into a corner and cried.  
  
"I-I'll.kill.them." He hissed through gritted teeth, clenching his fists up tightly, "Mark.my words. They're dead."  
  
"Hey, don' worry, man, they won' touch you if I'm around."  
  
A voice behind him made him jump and raise his fists in defence.  
  
A cold hand squeezed his shoulder gently and Alfred turned to face a boy whose name he could not remember.  
  
"Wait." he muttered, squinting, "You're.that boy. The one who sits in the corner? In our dormitory. Mr.err.something-Grahams."  
  
The teen smiled and nodded.  
  
"Brad Grahams. Nice to meet you Alfred." He extended his hand, but Alfred did not take it.  
  
Looking hurt, he pulled it back again and helped Alfred to stand.  
  
"Look, man, I've known Ron since kindergarten and there ain't nothin' that I don' know about him. My advice for you, kid, is to tackle your problems head on. Have no fear! Trust me.follow that advice and you'll come to learn that that's the best advice anyone could give you. Don't give up!"  
  
(4)  
  
I smile and remember Brad's words.  
  
4.1 Don't give up.tackle your problems head on.  
  
Quickly, I turn the key in the computer and activate the self-destruct sequence.  
  
"And tackle it I will."  
  
My voice is still not my own.  
  
I am only just aware that I have now released the B.O.W. known only as 'Tyrant'.  
  
"I will not allow those siblings to escape!" I fume, Alexia's voice still in control of mine, "This is what happens when you try to oppose me! Now feel my revenge!"  
  
I laugh and then run.  
  
Running into the darkness of insanity.  
  
I smile my sadistic smile as the cool, sexy, feminine voice announces that I now have 10 minutes to evacuate the island.  
  
No worries! I can always re-build this place when I dispose of them two little brats.maybe I'll even build a few new things here. A few statues of Alexia would do quite nicely in the courtyard.  
  
I quickly grab all the essentials for a long journey and re-apply my makeup before - grasping a small gold halberd in one hand - I make my way down to the tank yard.  
  
The huge tank looms over me.  
  
Quickly and quietly, I flip a panel in the back of it and press a button.  
  
Come on! Hurry up! I don't have much time left!  
  
The tank slowly and lazily rolls forward on its tracks.  
  
The buildings are exploding.I can hear the confused moans and wheezes of my zombified workers around me, hanging on the air. The ground tremors beneath me and I nearly lose my footing as a small one-man lift rises up from the ground.  
  
"This is it!"  
  
I race down a corridor and then calmly slot the halberd into place on the electronic doors.  
  
"This is not over yet, you deceived siblings!" Alexia furiously snarls from my vocals, "Now you'll see what real horror is all about!"  
  
A demented laugh escapes my lips and I slowly climb into the cockpit of an Ashford VTOL Harrier fighter jet in the hangars of the underground.  
  
This place will probably survive the detonation. Aw well.at least I'll have somewhere to land the jet when I come back with my Queen!  
  
Slowly and steadily the jet rises up into the air and then it shoots off into the night sky for a long journey.  
  
Time to pick her up in the Antarctic! Hang on! What's this?  
  
I can feel my eyes bulging out of my head.  
  
They flick from side to side and then they rest on a radar signal.  
  
A large object is flying behind me.a plane!  
  
"WHAT? STILL ALIVE?!"  
  
KROOM!  
  
The island explodes behind me, causing the small jet to shake violently.  
  
I steady it slowly and then check MY cargo to see if I have what I want.  
  
"Bombs away."  
  
I watch the large capsule land on the back with a thud and then I see a large muscular body tear its way out of the metal. It raises its large bald head to acknowledge my jet above and then - with an excellent and powerful movement - it smashes the back of the cargo hold through.  
  
"Now if they survive that I'll scream!"  
  
I switch the jet on autopilot and pour myself a glass of wine.  
  
"Cheers!" I raise my glass to the huge plane and then sit back with my feet on the windows.  
  
Ahh.memories of this jet. I remember when I first got this beaut!  
  
I admire my shining blue ring in the pale moonlight.  
  
And where I first got my ring, of course.  
  
1981  
  
"Breathe deeply and relax.great.now point the handles downwards for a landing.NOT TOO MUCH! Don't want to put it into a nose dive do we? Right! Now.that's it! Ease it back gently.press that button there for the automatic thruster release. Great! Perfect landing!"  
  
Alfred Ashford listened to his co pilot carefully and slowly landed the jet onto the soft tar of the landing pad.  
  
"Phew!"  
  
A cry of relief escaped his lips.  
  
Sweat mixed in with his hair gel and the heat beat down on him.  
  
Slowly, he ripped his shirt off and allowed the dog tags to fall onto his chest.  
  
Sweat poured down his chest and back also.  
  
As he crossed the courtyard, he was greeted by a welcome hug and a wet towel from his father, Alexander Ashford.  
  
"Well done my boy!" His father embraced him lovingly and then he ruffled his hair.  
  
Alfred frowned and slowly smoothed back his hair again. He then placed the towel around his neck and began to walk into the residence.  
  
He could hear his father's cane tapping the ground behind him.  
  
'Stupid old man!' He thought bitterly, 'Why must you keep following me? My business with you is finished!'  
  
He looked up onto the balcony near the poker room and saw his sister leaning over the railings, smiling down at him.  
  
Laughing, he pulled away from his father's arm and ran up the stairs to greet his Mistress.  
  
The two twins hugged and kissed each other lovingly - Alfred's long arms around Alexia's waist, Alexia's smooth hands gripping Alfred's shoulders.  
  
"Missed you, Sis!" He smiled, kissing her lips delicately.  
  
Alexia returned the smile and then hissed into his ear; "Meet me in the lab after I finish work tonight.I have something that will rid us of him forever!" She motioned towards Alexander - who was laughing at something with Scott Harman below them; "Two more years and we'll run this joint!"  
  
Before Alfred could reply, Alexander's gruff voice alerted the twins.  
  
"Alfred! Get down here now! I've got something for you."  
  
Alfred sighed and slowly let his hands slip from Alexia's waist.  
  
"Catch you later." He murmured, before greeting the two men downstairs with a false smile.  
  
Alexander led him through the mansion until they reached the outside where he led him into the jet hangar.  
  
"Close your eyes!" He whispered excitedly, "It's a surprise!"  
  
Reluctantly, Alfred closed his eyes and then felt his father's cold hands gripping his, leading him into more darkness.  
  
A light flickered into life above him and he felt a small box being pushed into his hands.  
  
"Open your eyes."  
  
Slowly, he opened them.  
  
And saw a huge jet in front of him - a fighter jet - with the Ashford emblem etched onto the side of it.  
  
Gasping, he walked up to the side of it and touched the cold steel gently, enjoying the feel. He traced around the emblem with one finger, admiring every inch of it.  
  
"This.is mine?" He choked out after a long silence.  
  
His father nodded and smiled; "Happy 18th, m'boy!"  
  
For the first time in his life.Alfred Edward Ashford was speechless.  
  
"Open the box."  
  
He glanced down and realised he'd forgotten he'd been holding the box when he saw the jet.  
  
Flipping back the lid, he stared at his face, reflected in the blue stone wielded into the ring.  
  
"This.this ring.was Grandfather's!"  
  
Alexander pushed the box further into his hands.  
  
"Whomever the ring fits." He motioned for Alfred to try it on.  
  
".Will be heir to the Ashford family!" Alfred finished, slipping the ring on his middle finger.  
  
"Happy Birthday, Son!"  
  
Alexander hugged him again and this time, Alfred returned the hug with equal strength.and equal love.  
  
(5)  
  
KROOM!  
  
What? Where am I? What was that?  
  
Eyelids open from their dream, reality and dreams become separate worlds once again.  
  
Dare'st I look out of the window?  
  
Should I gaze upon that plane below?  
  
I look down.  
  
A soft gasp escapes my throat and I can feel glass sticking into my hand.  
  
Moment's later, thick, warm, red liquid oozes its way across my palm, sticky and wet.  
  
My tyrant.blown away.out of the back of the plane.  
  
A rotten piece of meat hurtles down from the air and lands on my cockpit window with a deafening thud.  
  
Red covers my view and I scream in anger.  
  
I'm not finished yet, you juvenile siblings! I have one more trick up my sleeve for you!  
  
Slowly, I press a few buttons and smile as I am granted total control of their plane.  
  
I can hear them talking as their plane veers over to the Antarctic on autopilot.  
  
"Wha? The plane.it just changed course!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's stuck on auto pilot!"  
  
I switch on a computer screen and I laugh in Alexia's tone.  
  
"My apologies! But I can not allow you to escape!"  
  
I see Claire's shocked expression but then snarl when she yells; "ALFRED!?! You cross dressing freak!"  
  
Growling, I turn off the computer and look at the blood on my hands.  
  
What? Oh.must have held the glass too tight.  
  
My eyes cannot register any emotion at all now.  
  
A feeling of pain wells up within me.  
  
Alexia.my love.my sister.soon I shall see you.  
  
1983 - January 30th  
  
20-year-old Alfred Ashford wandered the hallways of the Antarctic military base and yawned.  
  
He saw the replica mansion up ahead of him and he looked out at a large room with a small pond and a painted ceiling to look like the outdoors.  
  
The small carousel revolved slowly and noisily, making him grind his teeth.  
  
'Gotta get those gears oiled.' He thought miserably to himself.  
  
He opened the double doors with the keys that his father had given him and he pushed open the doors slowly.  
  
'Just like George Spencer's house! Wow.'  
  
He looked ahead of him up the stairs and saw a portrait of him and Alexia with their father.  
  
'Strange.what are these three holes for?'  
  
Three openings on the picture caught his attention as he headed up the stairs.  
  
'One hole on my middle finger, one on Alexia's bosom and one on father's ear.'  
  
He examined it closer and then a thought struck him.  
  
'The hole is where the jewel on my ring is supposed to go.I wonder.'  
  
Five delicate fingers pulled away his ring and harshly pulled the shining blue stone from its casing.  
  
Alfred stepped back and placed in the jewel.  
  
"It fits." he murmured out aloud, "It actually fits."  
  
Placing his cold ear to the wall he heard coughing.a smoker's cough.  
  
'Father.what is behind this wall? What are you doing in the walls?'  
  
He stepped back and admired the painting thoughtfully.  
  
Placing the stone into its casing again, Alfred retreated upstairs and quickly entered the study room. He walked boldly down the hallway and didn't stop until he reached the labs.  
  
Alexia waited for him in there.  
  
"Brother? How did you get on the balcony?"  
  
She looked up and then saw the open door behind him.  
  
"What's in there?"  
  
Alfred shrugged and jumped down swiftly with a cat-like action.  
  
"Just a hallway.a study room.a sort of prison.and this door leading to here." He reported, "Dad gave me access to the mansion. There's a painting above the stairs."  
  
Explaining about the painting brought excitement to his face.  
  
Him showing her the way his ring and her choker detached made her smile.  
  
"I wonder." she began to pace, "Alfred, we must get father's jewel! You try and enter that room! Bring back anything you can find! Anything important!"  
  
Alfred nodded and smiled.  
  
"I shall try.my Queen."  
  
1983 - February 17th  
  
Alfred slyly pulled away the gem from his father's earring as he slept and then he ran down the hallway to the mansion.  
  
Several workers watched him go.  
  
Some greeted him with gentle nods of their heads.  
  
"Nice night eh Sir Alfred?"  
  
"Fancy giving me a hand? Heh!"  
  
"Why are you in such a rush?"  
  
Ignoring or just smiling at some of them, he quickly slipped through the doors and ran to the painting as fast as his legs could carry him.  
  
Placing all three jewels in their slots, he was greeted with a sliding motion of the painting and then he gasped as it slipped into the floor.taking the jewels with it.  
  
"SHIT!" He swore, "Now what?"  
  
He creaked open the door in front of him and stared down a long corridor.  
  
He found his father's study and the identical rooms that the twins had been told to sleep in.  
  
But a locked door caught his attention.  
  
His father's room.  
  
Slowly slipping the key in the lock, he stared at another study.with a book on the desk.  
  
Alexander Ashford's diary.  
  
"This has gotta be something tasty." he grinned flicking through the pages.  
  
'Nothing much.stuff on how he failed, the Spencer family, an' his work. Hello? What's this?'  
  
His eyes scanned the pages quickly and then he held one trembling hand over his mouth.  
  
"No." he whispered, his hand shaking, "I-it can't be."  
  
He continued to read further and then he uttered a shocked squeak of anger.  
  
"Alexia! You're never going to believe this!"  
  
Alfred burst into his sister's room and shook her awake.  
  
"What?" She muttered, angry at being woke up.  
  
Alfred sat down on the desk and began to talk. Quickly and quietly.  
  
"I got into father's study.it turns out that the corridor behind the painting leads there. I-I read his diary.and I found out that.that.that we're experiments."  
  
Alexia sat bolt upright and gasped, "What?"  
  
Alfred flicked through the diary and explained; "We were originally supposed to be a reincarnated version of Lady Veronica. Dad placed one of her eggs into the womb of a surrogate mother and his result was.two twins. One of them had higher intelligence than normal, but he was not smart enough to be rendered a genius.but the twin girl.was an outright genius.  
  
"He called the twins.Alfred and Alexia.Alexia being the first born by 20 minutes. He wants you to bring back the Ashford name! That is our purpose for being! All that he told us.about us being his special little twins.about us being his reason for living.was a lie!  
  
"He.he's using us! We're failed experiments!!!"  
  
Alexia screamed in anger and threw a vase to the floor.  
  
"He'll pay for this!" She snarled, grabbing Alfred's collar and shaking him hard, "Get that needle over there. We've just found our experiment!"  
  
1983 - March 3rd  
  
Alfred waited for his father to return.  
  
He had spent 3 hours waiting now.his cold blue eyes had scanned the doorway ever so carefully.  
  
Blond hair drooped over his eyes in thin strands - wet with sweat.  
  
Once gentle breathing was now reduced to harsh gasps as he struggled to keep it low and quiet.  
  
Too much breathing meant that his father would hear him; too little would mean that he would gasp out suddenly.  
  
Finally, in he stepped.  
  
A cane tapped the floor.a cigar was lit.  
  
Alexander Ashford had entered his room for the last time.  
  
Without a whisper or a warning, Alfred had leapt down from the top of the four-poster bed and had grappled his father to the floor.  
  
The two struggled for a second and then a loud crack had made Alfred leap off suddenly.as his father's neck snapped.  
  
And then Alexia had walked into the room, grinning.  
  
"Well done, brother." she hissed, "You served your Queen."  
  
But Alfred was beyond listening.  
  
"I.killed him." he whispered, stepping back, retreating to the doorway.  
  
Alexia turned round suddenly.  
  
"Alfred?"  
  
She stared into her brother's shocked face.as he turned and ran out of the room.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
"I-I-I.killed him."  
  
"SHUT UP! You're not making any sense!"  
  
"Our.f-father.I killed him."  
  
"And a marvellous job you did too."  
  
"N-no.it was murder."  
  
Alfred sat on his bed and hugged himself pathetically.  
  
His twin sister grabbed his shoulders harshly and shook him.  
  
"NO! It wasn't! You've pleased your Queen, Alfred! There's nothing else to do!"  
  
"BULLSHIT!"  
  
Suddenly, Alexia swung her fist and punched him across the face, knocking him to the floor on his knees.  
  
She stood tall and proud, hand still raised in defence, and faced her brother with fury in her eyes. Her blue dress clung tightly to her, making every curve of her body stand out. Blue eyes gazed at him with a certain authority and the pale skin seemed to flush.  
  
She picked him up and snarled into his ear; "I am your Queen.you don't care what you do as long as it pleases me."  
  
It was almost like being hypnotised.for Alfred replied, "Y-you are my Queen.I don't care what I do as long as I please you."  
  
  
  
(6)  
  
I arrive at the Antarctic base and snarl. "They will not win me! Never!" My whole world is a blur.I cannot concentrate! I can barely breathe! I smile sadistically and ready my rifle to kill Claire. Bursting in, I see her shutting off the toxic gas in one of my many rooms. "We're safe now." She breathes a sigh of relief and wipes her brow.  
  
"Think again Claire!" I laugh, "I shall enjoy watching you shriek in agony!" The door opens.Steve steps out.and the battle begins.  
  
The world is again a blur.pain and then darkness as I fall to my death. I only wake up, and truly begin to remember where I am, when I am dying at Alexia's feet. I call her name and fall to the ground, blacking out. The last thing I ever hear is Alexia's voice, "There was a friendly, but naive King." and then nothing.  
  
(Yeah, yeah, I know that the ending sucked, but I was in a hurry to get all my stories finished! Rate it anyways. It'll be worth the laugh! Read my other stories too! That's if you can be bothered.) 


End file.
